divan Hear it!

divan definition

di·van (di van′; for 1, also di vän′; for 2 & 3, also dī′van′)

noun

  1. in the Ottoman Empire,
    1. a council of state or the room in which it was held
    2. the audience chamber of a government office
  2. a large, low couch or sofa, usually without armrests or back
  3. a coffee room, café, or smoking room

Etymology: Turk dīwān < Pers, orig., bundle of written sheets, hence accounts, customhouse, council room, appropriate furniture

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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